1916 Leaders & Numbers

Tris Speaker, with something to prove after the Red Sox lowballed him on salary, became the AL’s first official batting champion other than Ty Cobb in six years. Cobb might have topped Speaker had he not been dogged by influenza. Baseball’s anti-Cobb—the quiet, cordial Zack Wheat—let his bat do all the angry talking. The bookies must have been in hiding; Hal Chase played on the up-and-up enough to win his only batting title. In his first June spent in a White Sox uniform, Joe Jackson hit over .500. After an underachieving debut in 1915, Rogers Hornsby was told by the Cardinals to bulk up or bail out; he eagerly took the first bit of advice. Pete Alexander not only shut out every NL team at least once, but also fired nine of his record 16 blankings at home in Baker Bowl, the Coors Field of its day. Babe Ruth’s nine shutouts established a record among AL lefties that would stand for 62 years. Walter Johnson pitched the most innings by anyone not allowing a home run. Al Demaree, whose sports cartoons would grace numerous newspapers in his life after baseball, graced the mound with a personal best in wins. Bob Shawkey, one of Connie Mack’s many exiles, set career highs in wins, saves and opponents’ batting average (.209). For the second straight year, Carl Weilman’s exceptional ERA couldn’t translate into a winning record.

The Ten Best National League Hitters, 1916

Name

Team

G

BA

AB

R

H

2B

3B

HR

RBI

BB

HB

SB

1. Hal Chase

Cincinnati

142

.339

542

66

184

29

12

4

82

19

1

22

2. Zack Wheat

Brooklyn

149

.312

568

76

177

32

13

9

73

43

6

19

3. Bill Hinchman

Pittsburgh

152

.315

555

64

175

18

16

4

76

54

2

10

4. Benny Kauff

New York

154

.264

552

71

146

22

15

9

74

68

3

40

5. Gavvy Cravath

Philadelphia

137

.283

448

70

127

21

8

11

70

64

5

9

6. Max Carey

Pittsburgh

154

.264

599

90

158

23

11

7

42

59

7

63

7. Cy Williams

Chicago

118

.279

405

55

113

19

9

12

66

51

9

6

8. Rogers Hornsby

St. Louis

139

.313

495

63

155

17

15

6

65

40

4

17

9. Dave Robertson

New York

150

.307

587

88

180

18

8

12

69

14

3

21

10. George Burns

New York

155

.279

623

105

174

24

8

5

41

63

1

37

The Ten Best American League Hitters, 1916

Name

Team

G

BA

AB

R

H

2B

3B

HR

RBI

BB

HB

SB

1. Ty Cobb

Detroit

145

.371

542

113

201

31

10

5

68

78

2

68

2. Tris Speaker

Cleveland

151

.386

546

102

211

41

8

2

79

82

4

35

3. Joe Jackson

Chicago

155

.341

592

91

202

40

21

3

78

46

5

24

4. Bobby Veach

Detroit

150

.306

566

92

173

33

15

3

91

52

3

24

5. Eddie Collins

Chicago

155

.308

545

87

168

14

17

0

52

86

3

40

6. George Sisler

St. Louis

151

.305

580

83

177

21

11

4

76

40

5

34

7. Burt Shotton

St. Louis

157

.283

614

97

174

23

6

1

36

110

0

41

8. Wally Pipp

New York

151

.262

545

70

143

20

14

12

93

54

2

16

9. Braggo Roth

Cleveland

125

.286

409

50

117

19

7

4

72

38

2

29

10. Del Pratt

St. Louis

158

.267

596

64

159

35

12

5

103

54

3

26

The Ten Best National League Pitchers, 1916

Name

Team

ERA

W

L

PCT

SV

G

GS

IP

TB

ER

BB

WP

HB

BK

1. Pete Alexander

Philadelphia

1.55

33

12

.733

3

48

45

389

341

67

50

3

10

0

2. Dick Rudolph

Boston

2.16

19

12

.613

3

41

38

312

287

75

38

5

3

1

3. Jeff Pfeffer

Brooklyn

1.92

25

11

.694

1

41

36

328.2

289

70

63

6

17

0

4. Ferdie Schupp

New York

0.90

9

3

.750

1

30

11

140.1

82

14

37

2

5

0

5. Eppa Rixey

Philadelphia

1.85

22

10

.688

0

38

33

287

245

59

74

13

7

0

6. Rube Marquard

Brooklyn

1.58

13

6

.684

5

36

21

205

175

36

38

3

0

1

7. Pat Ragan

Boston

2.08

9

9

.500

0

28

23

182

152

42

47

1

0

0

8. Lefty Tyler

Boston

2.02

17

9

.654

1

34

28

249.1

218

56

58

3

3

0

9. Al Mamaux

Pittsburgh

2.53

21

15

.583

2

45

37

310

273

87

136

3

9

6

10. Wilbur Cooper

Pittsburgh

1.87

12

11

.522

2

42

23

246

201

51

74

3

4

0

The Ten Best American League Pitchers, 1916

Name

Team

ERA

W

L

PCT

SV

G

GS

IP

TB

ER

BB

WP

HB

BK

1. Walter Johnson

Washington

1.90

25

20

.556

1

48

38

369.2

290

78

82

9

9

0

2. Babe Ruth

Boston

1.75

23

12

.657

1

44

41

323.2

230

63

118

3

8

1

3. Reb Russell

Chicago

2.42

18

11

.621

3

56

25

264.1

210

71

42

5

1

0

4. Bob Shawkey

New York

2.21

24

14

.632

8

53

27

276.2

216

68

81

2

6

0

5. Harry Coveleski

Detroit

1.97

21

11

.656

2

44

39

324.1

296

71

63

5

11

1

6. Eddie Cicotte

Chicago

1.78

15

7

.682

5

44

19

187

141

37

70

2

1

0

7. Carl Weilman

St. Louis

2.15

17

18

.486

2

46

31

276

246

66

76

3

8

1

8. Red Faber

Chicago

2.02

17

9

.654

1

43

26

205.1

170

46

61

0

5

1

9. Dutch Leonard

Boston

2.36

18

12

.600

6

48

34

274

262

72

66

8

8

0

10. Joe Benz

Chicago

2.03

9

5

.643

0

28

16

142

108

32

32

5

3

0

Brown type indicates league leader.How does This Great Game determine the best hitters and pitchers?Find out here.